PANJIM: Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Friday inaugurated the dedicated oncology OPD and full-fledged plastic surgery and art burns unit at Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital.
The oncology OPD has been opened in collaboration with KLE hospital, Belgaum to enable it to see cancer patients at GMC, before its full-fledged facility for treating cancer patients is set up.
“These two departments are very important for GMC. The new burns unit will be able to handle and treat almost 70 per cent burns whereas previously it would handle only 30 per cent burns. No hospital in Goa has a burns unit. The new burns unit has 12 beds out of which six are isolated and six are step down,” Rane said after inaugurating the new unit.
He added, “We are in the process of setting up an oncology department as there is a rise of cancer patients in Goa. The file has been moved to the Chief Minister and will get cleared any moment appointing Dr Anupama Borkar as Chief Consultant (Oncology).”
He further said that KLE is an important partner in setting up the OPDs at GMC as there is a large number of cancer patients referred to other hospitals. The Health Department has also requested KLE hospital to provide transportation facilities for patients to Belgaum for treatment.
The Health Minister said that the Regional Cancer Centre is a priority and will be set up at the earliest. “The Chief Minister is aggressive in going ahead with the Regional Cancer Centre. The building will cost Rs 15-20 crore. We have formed a committee which includes Dr Mahsh Sardesai, Dr Anupama Borkar and the Dean to finalise the drawings, after which the estimates will be prepared and tendered,” Rane added.
About eight months ago, the government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre to set up a regional cancer centre at GMC. The Rs 100-crore project was approved over a year ago, but wasn’t pursued by the State until a few months ago. The Central government has sanctioned Rs 45 crore for the project.
